some thoughts on “burning pain” opportunities in arenas I know about:
- consumer networking gear – we’re getting more networked and Best Buy isn’t sufficient in expertise or selection to solve our problems getting connected, staying connected, and managing all our digital junk. This is more than just zeroconf because I want to be able to influence the process; this is more than just vendor monoculture or wizards that only run on Windows, or any of the other lame attempts out there.
- consumer versions of IT back office systems – just like the network is getting more complicated, the systems are getting more complicated too… why should I update all my home pc’s independently when I can aggregate it? likewise for directory services, forward proxy’s to accelerate the web, intelligent NAS, version control, operations and maintenance tools, etc.
- telecom free data links – telephone and cable companies are B A D at delivering pure connectivity to the house, period. Until we get metered, commoditized, data pipes (at prices in line with electric, water, and sewer rates) we aren’t going to get the networked utopia that the industry talks about.
- interconnections – all my media center crap (TV, DVD player, game consoles, DVR, etc.), my kitchen, my HVAC, and my cars should be both “network aware” and “user aware” – know (automagically) what else is on the network and who (as in people and machines) is interacting with them and the machine should adapt to the human, not the other way around. Zeroconf meets fuzzy logic on a social network, I guess.